Action of 20–21 April 1782
| combatant2 = | commander1 = John Jervis Frederick Maitland | commander2 = Chevalier de Sillaus | strength1 = 3 third rate ships of the line | strength2 = 2 third rate ships of the line and 2 frigates 18 transports & merchants | casualties1 = 5 wounded | casualties2 = Pégase & Actionaire captured, 12 transports captured, 160 killed and wounded, 1,800 captured | campaignbox = }} The Action of 20–21 April 1782 also known as the Third Battle of Ushant was a naval battle fought during the American War of Independence, between a French fleet of three ships of the line protecting a convoy and two British ships of the line off Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France. This was the third battle that occurred in this region during the course of the war.Mahan, p. 187 Battle of HMS Foudroyant]] On 20 April the 84-gun ship [[HMS Foudroyant (1758)|HMS Foudroyant]], Captain John Jervis, attached to the fleet of Vice-Admiral Samuel Barrington, off Ushant, was ordered, with other ships, in chase of a French fleet. The French convoy comprised nineteen transports and the 64-gun ''Actionnaire'' armed en flûte;Roche, p.20 it was escorted by the 74-gun ''Protecteur'' and ''Pégase'', and the frigates ''Indiscrète'' and ''Andromaque''.Roche, p.41 At sunset the Foudroyant had got far ahead of her consorts, and near enough to the French ships and made them out to be a convoy, and four ships of war, two being line-of-battle ships of which were Pégase and Actionnaire. The squadron soon afterwards separated and the largest ship the 1,778 tons Pégase which the Foudroyant was pursuing, also bore up. A hard squall with hazy weather, coming on about the same time the Foudroyant lost sight of the fleet, and about half an hour after midnight brought the chase to close action. After engaging about three-quarters of an hour, the Foudroyant boarded the Pégase, and compelled her commander Chevalier de Sillaus to surrender. Out of a crew of 700 men, she had upwards of 100 killed and wounded while the rest had surrendered. Only two or three men were wounded in the Foudroyant. With other ships arriving up, the Pégase was taken possession of. Meanwhile the 90 gun [[HMS Queen (1769)|HMS Queen]], captained by Frederick Maitland, next day captured the other French ship Actionnaire after an action which lasted less than twenty minutes, armed en flute (in this case a storeship and only partially armed with 24 guns with a crew of less than 250) the French ship surrendered being after being totally outgunned. Most of the French convoy had now scattered but in total twelve other transports and merchants were captured by the British.Mahan, p. 187 Aftermath What was found on the Actionnaire were eleven chests of Dutch silver on board, and also lower masts for four seventy-fours, with sails and rigging complete besides her own masts, which were intended for the recently captured [[HMS Hannibal (1779)|HMS Hannibal]] off Sumatra renamed (Petit Annibal). The capture of the majority of the convoy was a huge blow to the Bali de Suffren.Mahan, p. 187 The British loss was minimal with only a total of five men were wounded and moderate damage to the their ships. The Pégase was used in the Royal Navy and commissioned as the third rate HMS Pegase. She served as a prison ship from 1799, and was used in this role until 1815 when she was broken up. John Jervis was knighted for this action.Winfield p. 68 Notes References * Allen, Joseph, Battles of the British navy, Volume 2. London, H. G. Bohn, 1852 * Lavery, Brian The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press, 2003. ISBN 0-85177-252-8. * * * Winfield, Rif, British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, Seaforth, 2007, ISBN 1-86176-295-X Category:Conflicts in 1782 Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War Category:Naval battles involving France Category:Naval battles involving Great Britain Category:Military history of Brittany Category:1782 in France